Meriodoc
by Master Tananh
Summary: Legend has it that if you collect the Seven Stars that an unstoppable monster will be under your control. Bowser only collected six. The monster turns on Bowser and it's up to Mario to save the Kingdom from an unspeakable evil. Different title, same story
1. Unleashing Evil

hey everybody! Celtic Boy here. This is the beginning of my first Mario action/adventure. Go easy on me! This takes place in the Paper Mario world. (But the characters aren't made of paper.) Sorry about the POV's. It's kind of hard to tell when they switch, but after this chapter the rest of the story will take place through Mario's point of view. Enjoy!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters.  
  
Chapter 1: Unleashing Evil  
  
It was a beautiful day in the Mushroom Kingdom. Bowser looked out on the lovely Kingdom with one thought in his mind. Revenge. He couldn't take it any more. Kamek had told him to wait but he couldn't!  
  
"But Bowser!" Kamek whined, "You can't do this without the seventh Super Star!"  
  
"I don't care Kamek. I've waited long enough! We've searched everywhere for that stupid thing but it's nowhere to be found! I can do it with six!" Bowser told his adviser.  
  
"I have no doubt it will be strong enough to defeat him but it will be unstoppable! It could turn on you! Without the combined strength of all seven Super Stars you won't be able to control it!"  
  
"Are you saying that this thing will be stronger than me? Hah! I won't need anything but brute force to keep it in line! Besides, after it helps me defeat Mario, I'll send it back to wherever it came from!"  
  
"As you wish."  
  
Princess Peach stood out on her balcony watching all the people in Toad Town scurrying around. It was a time of peace, and she was enjoying every minute of it. She turned around to see her attendant Toad. He was out of breath. "Princess! We have an emergency!" He cried. Well so much for peace. She thought.  
  
"What's a matter now Toad?" she asked.  
  
"It's-it's-it's Bowser!" He shrieked.  
  
Bowser. A name everyone in the Mushroom Kingdom had learned to fear and hate. He seldomly ever struck. But when he did it always put the entire Kingdom into an uproar. It also usually involved kidnapping the poor Princess. But Mario had always come through. Which is why every time he tried again it would be something completely different and usually involved something that was unheard of in the Mushroom Kingdom.  
  
"We've got to get you out of here Princess! His troops have already advanced to the second floor!" Toad cried.  
  
"Where can we go?" she asked.  
  
"We'll have to jump off the balcony!"  
  
"We can't do that! We would break are legs!"  
  
"Do you have a better idea?"  
  
Peach thought a moment. "Yeah I do."  
  
"What?"  
  
"The secret passage. We could hide inside!"  
  
"Um, princess? I'm claustrophobic."  
  
Peach buried her face her hands. Then She noticed something.  
  
"Tree."  
  
"What?" There's a tree next to the balcony. I could throw you!"  
  
"No Princess! I won't leave you alone!"  
  
"Yes you will."  
  
Then the Princess did something she normally would not do. She ran towards Toad, grabbed him, and picked him up over her head. She walked over to the balcony. "Sorry Toad." She muttered. Then she threw him off the balcony, where he landed in a tree.  
  
Bowser walked into the castle. He knew this would attract Mario. Then he would meet Bowser's new friend. A general of his army approached him.  
  
"Status report!" Bowser ordered.  
  
"Sir! We have captured everyone in the castle and are going to transport them to the new castle up north!" He replied.  
  
"What about the Princess?"  
  
"Well, um, we haven't found her yet."  
  
"WHAT? THAT IS THE ONE THING THAT WILL ATTRACT MARIO BETTER THAN ANYTHING!"  
  
"I-I'm sorry sir. We'll search again."  
  
"No, get everyone out of here and let one of the prisoners "escape" on the way back to the Keep. Knowing these Toads, he'll run straight to Mario for help. I'll come back later."  
  
"Huh? You want everyone to leave?"  
  
"Did you not understand something?"  
  
"Why are we leaving?"  
  
"DON'T QUESTION ME!!!"  
  
"Uh, y-yes sir!"  
  
Thirty minutes later everyone was gone. Bowser was alone. He eagerly awaited Mario's entrance. And he did. "It ends here Bowser," said Mario in his annoyingly brave voice.  
  
Bowser smiled. "It's time," he said. He pulled out an ancient spell book. After finding the appropriate page, he began to mutter the incantation. After he finished, a portal appeared and a booming voice echoed through the hall.  
  
Stranger, you have just unleashed a beast you have never  
  
seen before. Stronger then you ever  
  
imagined. This may be good, this may be bad.  
  
It may be your slave, or the worst enemy you ever had.  
  
If you give it any less than Seven,  
  
Out will emerge a beast that is not from heaven.  
  
Just then, Mario realized that he did not want to see what was in that portal. He ran towards Bowser and kicked the book out of his hands. Bowser responded by punching Mario in the face, knocking him down. But then the portal began to glow and they both stopped to stare at it.  
  
Bowser eagerly waited. What kind of fierce beast would emerge? The portal flashed, blinding both of them. When Bowser, looked up again he saw a type of shadow beast. It did not look like the strongest beast he ever saw. "Huh?" Bowser questioned. This was the almighty beast that the voice was talking about?  
  
The shadow thing was formless. It was just a shapeless black thing that hovered around. "You'd better be worth it." He muttered to the pathetic creature. Then Bowser began to glow. Six different colored Stars emerged from him. They turned into a type of energy and then it entered the beast. There was another blinding flash. Mario looked up.  
  
Mario was confused. It looked no different than before. Bowser must have realized this too, because he said, "That's it? This is the ultimate power? I could step on this thing! I can't believe this!" But the booming voice said something else, and it didn't sound happy.  
  
You fool! You were warned.  
  
Now you will get what you earned.  
  
You thought laziness was your friend,  
  
but it will lead you to a bitter end.  
  
"Oh shutup." said an irritated Bowser. He looked at "The ultimate beast". "That guy seems to think you're pretty tough. Why don't you live up to his expectations?" he sneered.  
  
King Koopa barely saw it coming. It smashed right into Bowser. He fell with a cry. But then it started to spread around Bowser. It covered Bowser from head to toe. He was completely black.  
  
Bowser frantically tried to get it off of him. He slashed at it, he blew fire at it, but all he seemed to do was damage himself. But then Mario saw it move into his mouth. The monster rushed down his throat and muffled Bowser's screams. Eventually Bowser just looked like himself again. He had involuntarily swallowed the monster.  
  
Bowser went into short spasms. It was as if someone was shocking him with millions of volts of electricity! Then suddenly he stopped moving. Bowser looked up at Mario with a pleading look and fell over. He wasn't moving.  
  
Then the monster rushed out of the seemingly dead Bowser's mouth. It didn't look much different, but then it started to change. It changed into Bowser. He was completely black. But then the color began to appear until it looked like an exact replica of the Koopa lying next to him.  
  
The creature looked at Mario. "Your next," it said in a cold voice.  
  
  
  
hey everybody! Celtic Boy here. How'd ya like it? I'm not sure how it's going to end yet, but oh well. And as for the Bowser fans out there, don't worry, Bowser's still alive. Sort of. Thanks for reading! 


	2. Meriodoc

hey everybody! Celtic Boy here. Sorry I took so long in posting this, but I've got a bunch of other stories that needed attending to. Anyway, I hope you like this. You find out a little bit about the "Ultimate Beast". Enjoy!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters.  
  
Chapter 2: Meriodoc  
  
Bowser went into short spasms. It was as if someone was shocking him with millions of volts of electricity! Then suddenly he stopped moving. Bowser looked up at Mario with a pleading look and fell over. He wasn't moving.  
  
Then the monster rushed out of the seemingly dead Bowser's mouth. It didn't look much different, but then it started to change. It changed into Bowser. He was completely black. But then the color began to appear until it looked like an exact replica of the Koopa lying next to him.  
  
The creature looked at Mario. "Your next," it said.  
  
Mario's eyebrows raised. He had talked! And yet it talked in a cold tone that made Mario's hairs stand on their end. But he tried to look brave. He couldn't just break down crying and beg for mercy! But strangely enough, that was exactly what he felt like doing. Too many things had happened today. One second, he was sitting at his pipe house, talking to his brother Luigi, then the next thing he knew, Bowser was dead and there was something not of this world looking at him with Bowser's eyes. He decided to talk back.  
  
"So, you beat Bowser. No big deal." Mario said, trying to convince himself as well as the creature. It laughed.  
  
"Don't you sound confident! Well, we will see how confident you are when I am shoving myself down your throat!" It said.  
  
"I don't think that will happen any time soon."  
  
"Oh, but I do! You may sound brave, but you are terrified out of your wits! You mere mortals think you can do anything. But you are different. You have done many interesting things haven't you, Mario?"  
  
"I- How did you know my name?" Mario asked. It laughed it's cold laugh again.  
  
"I know everything about you. I know about Smithy. I know you thwart this moron (He pointed to Bowser.) on a regular basis! I know all about how you helped the Seven Accursed Ones. I know everything about you. Your mind is racing! You are wondering how you are going to beat me. But you don't want to beat me. You have no desire to stand up against me. But you worry about the citizens of this pathetic dimension which you have taken upon yourself to protect."It said with a cruel grin.  
  
Mario's jaw dropped. That was exactly what he had been thinking! He obviously could read minds. But what was that he said about the Seven Accursed Ones? He then figured he was talking about the Star Spirits. They must be connected to him in some way.  
  
"Yes, the Star Spirits are the ones who captured me," It said, "But I was blinded by my power. They tricked me with a cunning that I did not know anyone other than I possessed. But I am free now. They cannot contain me again. They will pay. Right after I kill you."  
  
"Yeah? Well what if I said I didn't particularly feel like dying today? Who are you anyway?" Mario replied defiantly. But it did not seem to be moved at all by his tone.  
  
"True, I have not introduced myself. I am Meriodoc. Destroyer of Dimensions, Possessor of the Strong, The Bane of All."  
  
Mario chuckled. He really didn't feel like chuckling at the moment, but he wanted to unnerve him. "'The Bane of All?' Pretty impressive."  
  
"Well, I had a long time to think about it. Now, I am tired of talking. It's time for you to die." Meriodoc said right before he leapt toward Mario with claws flying.   
  
With reflexes that had been sharpened by countless battles, Mario jumped just before Meriodoc flew past him. He somersaulted and landed on his feet just in time to block Mario, who had aimed a kick at his face. Meriodoc opened the colossal mouth of Bowser and breathed out fire at Mario, who back flipped out of the way just in time. Meriodoc started to charge at Mario, but stopped right before a fireball whizzed past his head. They continued to battle for several minutes.  
  
This was easily the most intense battle Mario had ever had. But Mario really had expected to die in about two minutes. He felt somewhat encouraged by the fact that it had almost been an hour and he was still alive. "It seems you lost your touch!" He taunted just before he ducked as a large claw flew past his head. Meriodoc did not reply, he didn't lash out in fury, he did not make any changes in his assault. Mario did not know, he actually had frustrated Meriodoc a little. For Meriodoc knew that this was not an empty taunt coming from a man terrified out of his wits. Mario actually believed he could win. And Meriodoc thought that he had a chance as well.  
  
The fight escalated. Mario found himself just trying to defend himself against Meriodoc's attacks. Mario backed up onto the stairs, with Meriodoc chasing him from below. But Mario now had a slight advantage now that he was above him slightly. He jumped up and kicked, as hard as he could, right into Meriodoc's face. Meriodoc fell back, and in midair, Mario twisted around and shot a fireball at Meriodoc. It connected, Bowser's shoulder was scorched badly. He was winning. He thought triumphantly as he landed back on solid ground.  
  
Meriodoc grinned. "Don't get too cocky," he said. He looked at his burnt shoulder. Just then, the shoulder turned into the black substance that Meriodoc was made of for a brief second, then the shoulder reappeared. It was completely healed. It was right then that Mario realized he would not be able to beat him. He Wall Jumped up onto the balcony and ran up to the second floor, with Meriodoc running after him. On the second floor, Mario rushed in the Princesses room. He had a plan. He would push him off the balcony and wish to the Stars that he would land on his neck.  
  
Just as Meriodoc bursted through the door, Twink flew in through the balcony and took in the scene. Mario barely had time to be puzzled before Meriodoc said, "I'll get you Mario! You won't beat me this time!" But he didn't say it in his usual cold voice, he had said it in Bowser's gruff, low voice. Twink looked really confused. "What? It's just Mario and Bowser fighting again. Meriodoc isn't anywhere around here. Maybe it's a drill," he muttered to himself.  
  
Then Mario understood. "Twink! He's not-" but his words were cut as Meriodoc tackled him screaming maniacally. Just like Bowser would do. Mario kicked Meriodoc off of him and got up. He tried to warn Twink, but he was already starting to leave. Meriodoc started to charge again, but Mario kicked him in the face. This surprised Mario, since he had fully expected him to block that. But then Meriodoc started fly back toward the balcony. Just in time to save himself from falling off the edge, he grabbed the edge of the balcony. He ran over and looked down at him. In an undertone he said, "You have 190 hours to stop me, hero." Laughing, he let go and plummeted to the ground, headfirst.  
  
hey everybody! Celtic Boy here. Sorry this chapter is a little shorter than my usual stuff. I was going to make the next chapter be on this one, but I have decided to split them. Next chapter the plot thickens as Mario races against the clock. The Star Road comes into the fray, and the question, "What's the deal with the Star Road when you have the Star Rod?" is answered. That's about it. Please review. I love really long reviews. But short ones are cool too. Does anybody like Creed? Cuz I listened to them like, the whole time I wrote this. Thanks for reading! 


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